Crash Course to UFC 194: Chris Weidman vs. Luke Rockhold

Overview

Both Chris Weidman and Luke Rockhold are well-equipped to do the job they are being called upon to do. That job is to operate under the radar.

Weidman’s fourth defense of the UFC middleweight championship will go down on Saturday night at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas (10 p.m. ET, PPV) at UFC 194 … in the co-main event. It will be the champ’s second straight title fight to be given second billing.

For a low-key, lunch-pail performer like Weidman, the setup seems perfect. This is a man who, after an impressive 2012 victory had inserted him into the conversation as a serious challenger to the great Anderson Silva, ended up being bogged down by the family-man reality of having to save his New York home from the gusty savagery of Hurricane Sandy. And even in the time since the Long Islander took out Silva—not once but twice—and ascended to the top of the sport, he has remained an everyman.

Rockhold, on the other hand, is less everyman than Superman, not the comic book kind but the Hollywood leading man pedigree. In a sports world where it’s usually females who regrettably are recognized more for their appearance than their skill, he gets a bit of that treatment. And he plays to it, right down to a swinging bachelor turn on Millionaire Matchmaker.

Yet as he prepares for the biggest fight of his life—one that’s nonetheless being drowned out by the hype surrounding Conor McGregor’s main event quest to take over the sport by taking out the unconquerable featherweight champ, José Aldo—Rockhold is lurking in familiar shadows. He trains with light heavyweight champion Daniel Cormier and former heavyweight king Cain Velasquez, and they occupy much of the spotlight at their gym. And even Rockhold’s biggest asset, his well-rounded skillset, tends to get him overlooked when observers are pointing out the best of the best in standup or ground combat.

But with all due respect to all the Irish and Brazilian flags that will be waving at the arena this weekend, Weidman vs. Rockhold is the shimmering gem of UFC 194. How rare is it that two fighters at the top of the game clash in the prime of their careers?

Weidman (13-0) is coming off his most domineering win in the 2½ years since he captured the belt, a destruction of the no-longer-chemically-enhanced Vitor Belfort back in May. The 31-year-old is No. 4 in the SI.com pound-for-pound MMA fighter rankings.

Rockhold was no less thorough in his decimation of Lyoto Machida last April. And like the champ, he’s 31 and on a roll. The former Strikeforce belt holder has won all of his five UFC bouts other than his 2013 debut, in which he was KO’d by a testosterone-fueled Belfort. All four wins were finishes, the last three by submission. Rockhold (14-2) ranks No. 2 in the SI.com middleweight tally.

In addition to the pay-per-view telecast of Saturday night’s five-fight main card, three prelims will be shown on Fox Sports 1, starting at 8 p.m. ET, and the event’s first two bouts will be available on the UFC Fight Pass online service at 7.

Background

When Rockhold won a close fight with Ronaldo (Jacare) Souza in the fall of 2011 to take home the Strikeforce middleweight belt, there was little potential for upward mobility within the sport’s hierarchy. Over in the UFC, Anderson Silva was five years into his reign and looking untouchable. Weidman was just two fights into his UFC career, and the most generous view of him was as a promising prospect.

By the time that promise was fulfilled a year and a half later, when Weidman knocked out Silva to grab the belt, Rockhold was also in the UFC—Strikeforce had been shut down, its fighters moved to the sport’s top-tier promotion—but he was on a bit of a downswing. His UFC debut in the spring of 2013 had ended quickly, as he was the latest victim of Vitor Belfort and his testosterone replacement therapy fountain of youth.

Since then, Rockhold has built himself back up to become a fearsome challenger, while Weidman has fortified his place at the top. This clash was inevitable. And necessary.

Last Five Fights

WEIDMAN

ROCKHOLM

5/23/15 Vitor Belfort W TKO 1

4/18/15 Lyoto Machida W Sub. 2

7/5/14 Lyoto Machida W UD 5

11/8/14 Michael Bisping W Sub. 2

12/28/13 Anderson Silva W TKO 2

4/26/14 Tim Boetsch W Sub. 1

7/6/13 Anderson Silva W TKO 2

1/15/14 Costas Philippou W TKO 1

7/11/12 Mark Muñoz W KO 2

5/18/13 Vitor Belfort L KO 1

WEIDMAN

ROCKHOLD

June 17, 1984

BIRTH DATE

Oct. 17, 1984

Baldwin, N.Y.

BIRTHPLACE

Santa Cruz, Calif.

Baldwin, N.Y.

RESIDENCE

San Jose, Calif.

13-0

RECORD

14-2

185*

WEIGHT

185*

6’2*

HEIGHT

6’3*

78”

REACH

77”

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